


this, this makes it all worth it

by yawnralphio



Series: Fictober20 [21]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Gen, descriptions of minor injury, fictober20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yawnralphio/pseuds/yawnralphio
Summary: Eddie gets a chance to put his old training to use when Buck takes a tumble.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Fictober20 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967260
Comments: 3
Kudos: 90





	this, this makes it all worth it

Eddie finished hanging the streamer in his hand and descended from the step stool to assess his progress. There were more decorations to put up, sparklers to set out, food to make. His to-do list was a mile long, and his only saving grace was Buck's willingness to keep Chris entertained while he cleaned and set up.

Christopher's frantic yelling from the front of the house pulled his attention away from his task.

"Dad! Daddy!" The alarm in his son's voice didn't fail to make Eddie's heart skip a beat. He crossed the room in seconds and wrenched open the front door, scanning the yard.

The sight he was met with didn't ease his fears any. Buck and Chris were at the edge of the driveway, the former on his hands and knees. Christopher sat beside him. As Eddie drew nearer, he could see the tears welling up in his son's eyes.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Eddie asked, striding barefoot through the grass.

Chris looked up at him, distraught. "Buck's hurt," he said, looking back at Buck. From his position, he had a better view of Buck's face. Eddie crouched down beside them, rubbing his hand up and down Christopher's back in an attempt to soothe him.

"It's nothing," Buck grunted, turning his head toward them with a forced smile. He turned gingerly in place and sat, knees bent, inspecting a nasty looking scrape on his elbow. His palm was in a similar state.

"What happened?" Eddie asked again, looking Chris over for similar injuries. He found none.

"We fell," Chris said, his fingers curling into Buck's shirt. "I was driving and we crashed."

Eddie gave Buck a confused look, hoping for a better explanation.

"He was pulling my hair."

"Like Remy," Chris added. He leaned forward to get a closer look at Buck's knee. Blood welled up quickly and already ran down Buck's leg.

"The rat from that kids movie," Buck explained. He started picking at the tiny pieces of rock embedded in his knee and winced.

"Fix it," Chris demanded sharply. He looked up at Eddie with his jaw set. The shock wore off finally and Eddie nodded.

"Okay, buddy. I'll be right back." He ran back into the house, heedless of the pavement burning the bottoms of his feet. His med kit was in the bathroom, fully stocked as it always was. After his deployment, he kept a myriad of things on hand at home and in his truck, just in case. On his way back outside, he paused in the kitchen to wash his hands and grab a small canister of styptic powder.

One night, during Buck's many trials of healing, he'd nicked his hand while cutting up vegetables for dinner. The powder was something his at home care nurse recommended, and it had come in handy more than once. It made hospital visits unnecessary for the every day scrapes and bruises a man on blood thinners acquired.

Eddie hurried back, armed with everything he needed. Chris was smiling and giggling already as Buck sat there, his elbow held up over his head to slow the bleeding. He shouldn't have been surprised.

Buck had a way of calming people down even in the worst of circumstances. Eddie had witnessed it countless times on the job. He could give anyone hope, and sometimes that was better than luck. But despite how easily he'd calmed Chris down, there was an undercurrent of concern he couldn't hide from Eddie. His smile was too tight and it didn't meet his eyes, and he was impossibly still where he was normally so full of energy it overflowed.

Dropping his supplies, Eddie knelt in the grass at the edge of the driveway.

"Let's see about this knee, shall we?" he said, wrapping his hand around the back of Buck's calf to hold the leg still. Chris watched him closely, his head bent over Buck.

First, he wiped away the excess blood at the wound. It was a useless effort, but it allowed him to see what little debris was left. He sprayed it with an antibiotic, sprinkled the powder generously over the area, and wrapped a thin piece of gauze around it to keep it clean.

"Sorry," Buck mumbled as he worked. "I'm sure you have better things to do than deal with this."

Eddie shrugged, continuing with a practiced ease. "I trained for this. It's like riding a bike." He took Buck's forearm and pulled it down so he could get a closer look at the elbow. It was around that time Chris grew bored with the ordeal and wandered back into the yard toward the pile of toys laid out.

Buck's eyes flickered over Eddie's shoulder and back. It was hard to concentrate under his complete attention. "I feel like this isn't exactly the best use of your combat training. These damn blood thinners…"

Eddie clicked his tongue. "Come on, this? This makes it all worth it," he teased, smiling as he placed a large bandaid over the cut. He lowered Buck's arm for him and held out his hand expectantly.

The truth was that Eddie hadn't gotten to use his medical training in a long time. He felt a twinge of guilt at how relieved he'd been that it was Buck and not Christopher who'd gotten hurt. Even something as small as a scrape could be serious with the medication Buck was on, but nothing would ever be more important than his son's safety. Buck was a grown man. He could take it.

Buck obediently laid his knuckles in Eddie's palm. "I don't even know what happened. He was on my shoulders. I tripped, and then…"

Eddie met his eyes and played out the scenario in his mind. Even with the added weight on his shoulders, Buck had been careful to go down in such a way that Chris didn't even get a scratch. The knowledge warmed him. He turned his attention back to the scrape on Buck's hand, giving it the same treatment as the rest. He put the finishing touches on the wrapping and tied it to keep it in place, ignoring Buck's wince of discomfort.

"All done," Eddie announced, sitting back on his heels.

"Don't forget to kiss it better," Chris called out from behind him.

Buck smiled agreeably - a real one this time. "I want the Diaz special," he insisted, raising his eyebrows.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "If I must," he sighed dramatically. He took Buck's hand again and ducked his head. His lips touched the skin at Buck's wrist, just at the edge of the bandage, and he would have sworn he heard Buck's breath catch.

He looked up, seeking Buck's eyes. Before he could find them, a nerf dart hit him in the back of the head, breaking the spell.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://yawnralphio.tumblr.com).
> 
> Reblog [here](https://yawnralphio.tumblr.com/post/632631976705261570/21-this-this-makes-it-all-worth-it-fox-911).


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